Film Review - Knives Out (2019)

Murder mysteries are almost like a lost art nowadays. The genre is almost universally loved, yet for some reason they are hardly common in today's media. Fortunately for us, Rian Johnson loves a good mystery as well and, having just made himself better known in the industry (for better or for worse for himself), he's now crafted exactly the kind of whodunit we've wanted with Knives Out.

Knives Out is a revival of this genre, taking what's loved about it and adding even more to it to keep it fresh and original, making for a blast of a viewing experience.

Far away the biggest pro the film has going for is its brilliant screenplay. Johnson's writing is seamless, packed with spot-on comedy, brilliant clues and twist to add to the mystery, and relevance that hits home with current issues in fitting and completely necessary ways.

The big reveal can be considered questionable and even predictable (for reasons I won't go into in order to avoid spoilers), which admittedly does take away from some of the mystery aspect, but the rest is so well-tuned that I can't help but forgive it.

The cast and the characters they play also do a great job of leaving a lasting impression. I do feel that some of them are pretty underused, but even they are unforgettable because of how distinct they are from everyone else and have at least one one-liner that I guarantee will become frequently quoted as time goes by, because Chris Evans sure does wanna cookie.

But the two stand above the rest are Ana de Armas as Marta, the nurse of the victim, Harlan Thrombrey (Christopher Plummer, who's also great!) and Daniel Craig as the detective hired to investigate, Benoit Blanc. Armas gives easily one of the best performances of the year, offering an intriguing and heart-filled portrayal that effortless leads the film. Craig's work is then endlessly entertaining; you can tell that he had the time of his life while making this, with a priceless accent and scene-stealing dialogue, I can see why he wants to do more of these films with Johnson. (Seriously, please go forward with this Rian).

The Thrombrey family as a whole is fascinating, because even with some of them being underdeveloped, the more that's learned about them, the more the film's themes grow. The more each of their possible motives build and how they become increasingly more menacing to the viewer, satisfyingly making them like them less and less as the runtime continues. It makes you want to know everything about the family and their connections to Harlan, which is exactly what a film like this should do.

And why is the score for this film not being talked about more? It brilliantly sets the mode from the very beginning and onwards, fitting in with the mystery style effortlessly and leaving a nice tune to repeat in your head again, and again, and again, and..... oh dear...

So much of the production in this film is incredibly impressive. The Thrombrey house where most of the story is set is instantly iconic, sprawling with details that jump out and explain what this place is and who the person that owns it is like. And the cinematography couldn't fit the murder-mystery more than it does.

This is unquestionably one of the best edited films of the year as well. It makes the pacing feel so fast that you'll really question whether it really is 130 minutes. And the flashbacks that occur throughout (not spoiling anything here) are aided by quick transitions that coincide with the film's present time ever so smoothly.

Knives Out is such a cleverly made film all in all; even though some aspects of the story don't entirely live up to expectations, it's forgivable overall because of how great the rest of it is handled. This is one of the most memorable and well-characterized films of the year that I can certainly see myself liking even more in the hopefully-near future.

Final Grade: A-

Oscars 2020 - November Predictions

Well folks, we've (kind of) made it. Every film we've been keeping our eyes on throughout the awards season has been seen, with the exception of Cats, but..... ya know. With nominations for both the Golden Globes and the Critic's Choice Awards less than two weeks away, now would be an excellent time to see how things are going.

Best Picture

1. The Irishman
2. 1917
3. Marriage Story
4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
5. Parasite
6. Joker
7. Knives Out
8. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Yes, I'm giving in. I've already talked in the past about being hesitant about predicting 1917 to the extent that others have because I felt that the one-shot style would be incredibly hit or miss, not to mention how Sam Mendes' work is a bit divisive also. But after first reactions dropped just recently, it's safe to say that it'll be a big hit with multiple awards guilds.

That being said, I'm still betting on The Irishman winning. The runtime and Netflix bias is certainly going to factor against it, but the acclaim is most certainly there from both audiences and critics.

Marriage Story isn't far behind 1917 if not tied with it right now, so you can somewhat consider this to be a brawl between The Irishman, 1917, and Marriage Story.

Best Director

1. Martin Scorsese - The Irishman
2. Sam Mendes - 1917
3. Quentin Tarantino - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
4. Bong Joon-Ho - Parasite
5. Rian Johnson - Knives Out

"When is this kid going to give up on Knives Out?" Well, I'm glad to say that my answer is never. I'll consider it the "surprise hit" for the awards season right now, similar to Phantom Thread, because the praise both online and from AMPAS it has been getting so far and the its likelihood of success is something that will easily give it a major boost. Hopefully that will make Lionsgate realize that they should be campaigning it more as well.

Best Lead Actor

1. Joaquin Phoenix - Joker
2. Adam Driver - Marriage Story
3. Robert De Niro - The Irishman
4. Leonardo DiCaprio - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
5. Antonio Banderas - Pain and Glory

Nothing new to say here since last time, but I should note that De Niro and DiCaprio are basically tied. Also worth mentioning is that Eddie Murphy in Dolemite Is My Name could make it here as well, but Banderas performance and film seems to be more like something the Academy would like. Murphy is still worth keeping an eye on regardless, and maybe he'll be able to pick up with nominations from the Critic's Choice and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Best Lead Actress

1. Scarlett Johansson - Marriage Story
2. Renée Zellweger - Judy
3. Ana de Armas - Knives Out
4. Charlize Theron - Bombshell
5. Cynthia Erivo - Harriet

Best Supporting Actor

1. Tom Hanks - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
2. Joe Pesci - The Irishman
3. Al Pacino - The Irishman
4. Brad Pitt - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
5. Willem Dafoe - The Lighthouse

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood I predict is going to be this award season's Philomena. It gets nominated for the same four categories, but the big twist here is that it actually wins the acting category it was nominated for. Hanks already has a big push going for him, and the fact that he's playing Mr. Rogers is irresistible. The Academy may have been keen on snubbing him as of late, but I believe that this will be the one.

Dafoe in The Lighthouse I admit might be more wishful thinking on my part if anything, considering how much I love the film and Dafoe in general. But the way he snuck into the lead actor category last year for At Eternity's Gate really gives me the feeling that the love for him is enough to get him the nominations that he deserves, regardless of genre bias in this case.

And if Dafoe doesn't work out, then put in Shia LaBeouf for Honey Boy instead, which has been getting perhaps the biggest push from Amazon right now and has gotten a good amount of love from those in the industry.

Best Supporting Actress

1. Laura Dern - Marriage Story
2. Margot Robbie - Bombshell
3. Scarlett Johansson - Jojo Rabbit
4. Annette Bening - The Report
5. Maggie Smith - Downton Abbey

Best Original Screenplay

1. Knives Out
2. Marriage Story
3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
4. Parasite
5. The Farewell

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. The Irishman
2. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
3. Jojo Rabbit
4. Joker
5. The Two Popes

Jojo Rabbit I feel won't be able to pull through in the end. Its reception has already been very divisive in a season where films that are loved by most are prevailing (with the exception of the divisive Joker, which gets its awards boost from its lead performance and massive box office success).  Not to mention how much more successful other contenders it's up against have been. Maybe I'm wrong, but for now I'll go by by gut and say it won't get a Best Picture nomination, although one for screenplay still seems pretty safe.

Best Film Editing

1. The Irishman
2. Ford v Ferrari
3. Marriage Story
4. Knives Out
5. Joker

The Irishman takes the front spot mainly because of the runtime and how the editing made it seem so quick. Not to mention that Thelma Schoonmaker is perhaps the most respected film editor in the industry.

1917 is an interesting case here, because war films often do well in this category, and this one even has Lee Smith (previous winner here for the amazing Dunkirk) attached. However, it's one-shot style. although being greatly aided by editing, will seem much more like an effort for cinematography (which it honestly should). This may actually play against it for this category given how the last film in this style, Birdman, won in cinematography but wasn't even nominated for film editing, likely a result of voters thinking the editing is less plausible because of how it is in the style of being one shot. So, I'll lay on it getting nominated here for now, but I'd be more than happy to be proven wrong.

Best Cinematography

1. 1917
2. The Irishman
3. Joker
4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
5. A Hidden Life

Roger Deakins goes from being at #2 to looking at #2. I already established 1917's one-shot look above, so I don't think I need to go into too much detail about how it'll easily win over Academy voters. 

Joker has been able to find a surge in this category as of late, particularly with its main competition win at Camerimage, a major cinematography guild. The film has already received plenty of praise for its camerawork already, so it looks like a nomination here is underway.

Best Original Score

1. 1917
2. Little Women
3. Marriage Story
4. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
5. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Best Original Song

1. "The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy" - Toy Story 4
2. "Into the Unknown" - Frozen II
3. "I'm Gonna Love Me Again" - Rocketman
4. "Beautiful Ghosts" - Cats
5. "Stand Up" - Harriet

Best Production Design

1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2. Little Women
3. The Irishman
4. 1917
5. Knives Out

Best Costume Design

1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2. Little Women
3. Downton Abbey
4. Dolemite Is My Name
5. The Irishman

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

1. Joker
2. Bombshell
3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
4. 1917
5. Downton Abbey

Best Visual Effects

1. Ad Astra
2. Avengers: Endgame
3. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
4. The Aeronauts
5. Captain Marvel

Best Sound Mixing

1. 1917
2. Ford v Ferrari
3. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
4. Ad Astra
5. Midway

Best Sound Editing

1. 1917
2. Ford v Ferrari
3. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
5. Ad Astra

Academy loves war films when it comes to sound design, and know that my fears that it would be too divisive have been dashed, I now feel safe in predicting it to win both of them. As for Ford v Ferrari, I honestly feel like it too won't make it anymore. Not that it isn't well-liked, just that it doesn't seem to have the legs needed to stand against other films throughout the season. Right now, it'd be best to say it'll be the next Baby Driver in the sense that it'll get editing and sound nominations and nothing else.

Best Animated Film

1. Toy Story 4
2. Frozen II
3. Weathering With You
4. Missing Link
5. I Lost My Body

Frozen II may be winning the hearts of fans of the first film right now, but Toy Story 4 still has the far better reception from both audiences and critics to give it a major advantage here. It also helps that the Academy loves Toy Story and Pixar in general.

Best International Film

1. Parasite
2. Les Misérables
3. Monos
4. Gully Boy
5. Atlantics

#BongHive

Film Review - The Irishman (2019)

People always say that you should pick your friends wisely. They help you get through tough times and are there to pick you up when you need it. Need someone to give you a ride to the airport? Well, they may not like it, but hey they're your friend so why not! And, if you're especially lucky, those friends can be more than you think. This means that you now have better protection, more respect, and a growing relationship that only gets stronger, just like a certain Irishman.

The Irishman follows the life of Frank Sheeran who made friends with the right people who held him closely in return. It reveals his connections with them and how they have with him all his life in one of the decade's most expertly crafted films.

It is an epic in every sense of the word, cramming decades of Sheeran's life into three and a half hours. But, not a single second of it is wasted. Every scene adds on to the last, building upon the themes that slowly but ever so satisfyingly appear as the story continues. The pacing makes it feel like the fastest three hours ever thanks to some of the best editing of the year.

The CGI used to de-age the actors to signify this passage of time is something that easily could've been incredibly distracting. Thankfully, it gives Robert De Niro his youth back effortlessly and doesn't distract from the story at all. 

Speaking of the actors, The Irishman is superbly acted, with the standouts being the big three advertised for it: De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci.

Robert De Niro's titular role as Frank Sheeran is a marvel (ha!) to witness. He tells the audience of his character's development better than anyone else ever could, as his vulnerability becomes ever more apparent in one of the most heartbreaking characters in a film from the 2010s.

Al Pacino and Joe Pesci are equally plausible and are at their best in years. Pacino portrays the charismatic and ice cream-loving Jimmy Hoffa with more energy than anyone else in the film, energy that becomes increasingly more impatient with its business partners. Pesci's work as Russell Bufalino, on the other hand, is more of the opposite, offering a more restraint character who often steals the moment with the quiet but thunderous impact he leaves the viewer with. Both of them are simply remarkable and deserve the awards recognition that they're likely to receive.

The real star, however, would be the one and only Martin Scorsese in his defining of cinema here. His direction is flawless, giving the film a personality and groove that would be impossible for any other director to replicate. It's perhaps the most personal he has been in his filmmaking ever.

Other aspects of The Irishman are so well done that it is almost unbelievable. The production gone into recreating the era(s) of Sheeran's time is out of this world, with sets and costumes that seem authentic (people who are into cars will love this). The cinematography is also incredibly impactful with countless unforgettable and haunting shots that perfectly tell the story.

The writing that Scorsese and the actors are given to work with is, unsurprisingly, phenomenal as well. It's fully aware of the situation it deals with, offering a strikingly realistic take on it with the seriousness of it all never being downplayed with enough great humor in there as well to ease the pain.

This film is mobster to the core, but it's tackling of the realities of the mafia business are remarkable. It shows just how deep it was through Frank Sheeran. How it got the best of his friends. How it impacted those who weren't even involved with it. How it ate up his life and filled him with regret and loneliness.

The Irishman feels like it was meant to last forever. It's like Scorsese kept watching back to back while in the editing room to make sure that everything was in place. It will easily go down as the film Netflix is best known for and one of the finest cinematic achievements of the decade.....as well as the film that grossed under $3 million with a nearly $160 million budget.

Final Grade: A+

Film Review - The Lighthouse (2019)

Allow me to begin by asking a simple question: what causes insanity? Immediate answers would say something such as a traumatic experience or mistreatment from others. I, however, offer a differing response, as it is clearly, in all cases, caused by Willem Dafoe's farting.....either that, or being stuck on rock with no one but a farting Willem Dafoe.

That opening is the best way for me to describe The Lighthouse, as it is a grim, haunting film about isolation that also is able to fit a laugh in there, making it one of the year's best films and easily one of the finest horror films of the decade.

It is a bit strange to praise it as horror, though, since the film itself isn't necessarily too scary. Despite this, it nails its bone-chilling story and atmosphere flawlessly.

It's shot in a black and white, 1.19:1 aspect ratio, making it pretty apparent from the start that this is going to be something special. It beautifully matches the ongoing mystery and tension that builds throughout the story and alone defines what this film is.

The sound design is also, without a doubt, the best of 2019. It creates the feeling of isolation that the characters are filled with perfectly. And the score by Mark Korven is one that will stick with viewers long after seeing it.

But the big push that the film gets comes from its performances. The Lighthouse is a two-man show between Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, one being further proof that you can recover from being in Twilight and the other being another excellent addition to the filmography of one of the greatest actors of our time.

Pattinson's descent into madness is so captivating and convincing that it almost made me forget about Joaquin Phoenix in Joker. Then Dafoe is doing a terrific job as usual, offering a brilliant turn as an aging, and quite funny at times wickie. Both of which are deserving of awards recognition regardless of what category they are placed in.

The interactions between their two characters is also a marvel to witness. The more they get to know one another, the more unpredictable their actions towards one another gets. One minute they could be having having a great time with some drinks (they drink a lot in this film), the next they could be at each other's throats. It's fascinating to see how they deal with each other and try to get the other to mess up.

The Lighthouse in its entirety is a brilliant vision of one Robert Eggers', director and co-writer, come to life.

His direction is noteworthy alone for the fact that he was able to get as something as difficult to make as this made, but mainly that his focus on each scene is so clear in its purpose and meaning to the story.

Eggers' writing with his brother Max Eggers is nothing short of brilliant. I've already talked about how great the characters are, so nothing more needs to be said there. But the themes he dives into are something that can spark endless discussion. I won't go into detail about them here for the sake of avoiding spoilers, but keep in mind that it isn't shy about touching on deep subjects.

Not just that, but Eggers made this easily the funniest film of the year. Bits of comedy are sprinkled throughout the runtime and don't distract from the insanity happening at all. If anything, it makes it better, offering a comedic way of executing a rich scene.

I honestly find it difficult to criticize anything in The Lighthouse. In fact, I find it more difficult to believe that I didn't talk about everything that's great in this film. It's such a flawlessly crafted, impeccably acted, and insane work of cinema that can not be missed. It certainly won't be for everyone, but for those who it is for, you've got something special to see along with plenty of farting to watch.

Final Score: A+